Trapped
by LittleMissSylarPetrelli
Summary: Someone is betraying the Justice League, spilling all their secrets and weaknesses. Batman is surprised to find out it's one of his own. But you'd never guess who... **NO LONGER ON HIATUS**
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice**

"Miss Martian! Get behind them and take out their back line of defense. Artemis! You take down the West side. Kid Flash! I need you back here with me!" I yell and everyone gets into their positions.

"Aqualad! Superboy! Where are you!? We need your help over here!" I say, using the mind link that M'gann set up.

"We are on our way. Can you hold up until we get there?" Aqualad replies.

"I hope so."

We're fighting a pack of Captain Cold's men, trying to get to him. They've gone into an army formation, and we're struggling to keep our ground. Captain Cold's sitting on an ice throne in the middle of his army, looking bored.

We were alerted by an ice explosion and below zero temperatures in the northern part of Coast City and were sent to investigate. But we didn't expect to find a whole army of Captain Cold's men.

M'gann tries to fly over them to get to Captain Cold, but nearly gets shot down; the only thing saving her is one of Artemis' arrows, knocking the ice ray out of a goon's hands.

Suddenly, Captain Cold sees an opening and jumps up. He runs towards an open door that leads outside, the same door that I was hoping that Aqualad and Superboy would come through any minute. I look to see that Artemis and Kid Flash are back-to-back, fighting off goons from every direction, and M'gann has her hands full, telekinetically picking them up and throwing them at walls.

That only leaves me.

I knock the legs out from under the guy I'm fighting, and deliver a roundhouse kick to his head, effectively knocking him out. I manage to get past a wall of goons and through the door. I hide behind a refrigerator, watching. I see him just standing there, doing nothing at all, which confuses me.

I climb on top of the refrigerator and pull myself up onto a beam. I sneak along until I'm just above him and, letting loose my signature cackle, I jump down in front of him, crouching and ready to attack.

He looks at me with a devilish grin, like he knew I was there all along.

"Why Robin, how nice of you to DROP in." He says, chuckling at his own joke.

"Ok well first of all, terrible pun and second of all I doubt the way you'll be leaving this place can be considered 'nice.'" I say, standing up straight and giving him a pointed look.

"And how might that be?"

"Handcuffed in the back of an armed truck with a one way ticket to Belle Reve."

"Is that so? Because, you see Robin, I think that you will find your method of leaving here quite... unpleasant." He says, grinning maliciously.

And the next thing I know, my arms are grabbed and twisted behind my back and my legs are kicked out from under me.

"What the-" I yell but a metal hand clamps over my mouth. I kick and struggle but a weird type of goo is poured over my wrists and ankles, moulding to fit them, leaving me kneeling on my knees, glaring at Captain Cold, who is laughing hysterically.

"I told you! What did I say? This was so worth the effort." He says, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Yes, yes. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now, take your money and go." Says a strange voice. "Not that I think it'll be worth much once the invasion is complete." He adds, muttering under his breath.

Captain Cold grabs a thick wad of cash and runs out a back door. I try to shake off the hand clamped firmly over my mouth but achieve nothing.

Then a huge figure crouches down in front of me.

"Greetings Earthling. I am Black Beetle and I assume you are Robin, sidekick to the legendary Batman, the leader of the Justice League. And I also assume that you have many questions, all which will be answered shortly. But I shall explain a bit first. You are the lucky person who has been chosen to aid the Reach in their invasion of your planet, by infiltrating The League and telling us all their secrets." Says a huge figure clad in what appears to be an all black metal beetle suit.

I try to contact someone through the mind link but I am out of range and mumble through the hand.

"Sorry, what was that?" He asks teasingly. "Oh, and don't bother trying to call for your friends, there's a reason we chose this room; it's soundproof. He then slowly pulls his hand away. I resist the urge to bite it, knowing all too well that the only result I'd get would be broken teeth.

"I said, what makes you think I'm going to do that?" I reply bitterly.

"Oh you will soon find out. All in good time my friend, all in good time." He says, grinning evilly. He stands up and walks behind me, saying something in a different language that I don't understand. I feel a sharp pain in my neck and everything goes dark.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

I moan as I slowly regain consciousness. I try to sit up, but find that I'm strapped to a chair, kinda like the ones at the dentist. My arms are strapped to the armrests, my feet are strapped down on the actual chair and there's a weird looking contraption around my head.

"Ah, you're finally awake. Although, I'm sorry to inform you, we will be putting you under anesthetic for the operation in just a few minutes." Says an alien wearing a doctor's uniform and carrying a clipboard.

"Huh? What operation?" I ask groggily.

"Why, I thought you knew. Black Beetle must have a reason for not telling you, therefore, I shall not ruin his plans. But what I can tell you is this. You will be helping out the Reach immensely by undergoing this operation. I take it that you are doing this voluntarily?"

"What the hell?! Do you really think that I'd be STRAPPED to this chair if I was doing this voluntarily?!" I yell, starting to pull against my bindings.

"Oh dear! Then I probably shouldn't be talking to you. Very well then, let's get started."

He turns to a tray of instruments and picks up a syringe, filling it with a clear substance. He then turns around to face me.

"Would you mind holding still? You are making this much harder than it has to be."

"Get away from me!" I scream, thrashing around. I kick my legs and yank my arms, trying to break the straps.

"I need some help in here!" The alien yells. Four more aliens dressed in red robes that cover their faces run through the door. They see me thrashing and they grab my arms and legs, pinning me down.

The alien 'doctor' steps forward and holds the syringe just above my arm.

"Please." I ask weakly, giving up on fighting. "Don't"

"I'm sorry." He says, and I'm plunged into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N please don't kill me! I'm really sorry I havent updated in a while. Can we just pretend that the last three weeks never happened? *dodges rotten tomato thrown at head* I'll take that as a no. Well I have a valid excuse. First of all, I nearly died from the amount of homework I had and secondly I had a particularly evil case of writers block :/ so yeah. But anyway I am actually quite happy with this chapter and I hope you are too because then hopefully it makes up for the big waiting period and it also means that I get to live to write another day! But anyway, enough of my useless blubbering and on to the chapter!**

"Robin? Robin?" I jolt my eyes open as I'm shaken roughly. I immediately regret it as my head throbs and my vision blurs. I shut my eyes and groan.

"Robin, what happened?"

My limbs hurt and my head is swimming, and there's a sharp pain on the left side of my forehead. I try to stand up but fall over. Aqualad grabs my arm to help steady me.

"What happened?" Aqualad asks again.

"I-I don't know. I remember seeing Captain Cold run away and I remember going after him but, after that, it's all a big blur." I say, closing my eyes to try and stop the world spinning.

"Ok well it doesn't matter. Captain Cold's gone and Batman's not impressed. We better get going." Says Artemis.

I stumble towards the door and Aqualad helps me aboard the bio-ship. My head is still reeling as I sink into my seat. I close my eyes as I lean back in my chair and fall into a fitful sleep.

I yelp as I wake up, covered in sweat, about 10 minutes later when Wally puts his hand on my shoulder.

"Dude, are you alright?" He asks, concerned. "You've been jumping around in your sleep the whole time."

I shake my head although I wish I hadn't. My ears are ringing and the left side of my forehead is still throbbing with pain. I lean back again.

I try not to scream as the bio-ship has a bumpy landing, jolting my already complaining head.

"Sorry guys." M'gann apologizes.

Wally helps me up and I manage to stumble inside Mount Justice to the briefing room, where Batman is glaring at us from the screen.

"What. Happened." He demands.

"Well..." Wally starts.

"We went there as was planned..." I hear Aqualad start to explain but a buzzing noise fills my head.

I grip the sides of my head as I stumble backwards a bit.

"Robin? Are you ok?" M'gann asks scrunching her face in concern.

The left side of my forehead screams with pain and I lift my hand to it. I feel the stitches and slightly raised bump just under my hairline and my eyes fill with fear as I remember everything. I press on it to make sure that it's real and I feel my eyes roll back into my head as I pass out.

As I open my eyes I see my friends all staring at me, their eyes filled with worry. But, something's different. It's like I'm looking at them through a screen; a huge television screen.

Strangely, I don't feel any more pain. I get up, but I'm still looking at my friends from the same angle. Suddenly, a feeling of dread crawls up my spine.

I look around and see that I'm in a white, padded room, like the ones that they put crazy people in. What I had been looking at WAS a screen!

"What's going on?" I mutter to myself, the feeling of dread spreading throughout my whole body. I am starting to get really, really scared.

"Hello Robin." Says a chilling voice.

I look through the 'screen' but I don't see who the voice belongs to. It seems to be coming from different places around me, like it's jumping from space to space. I spin around in a circle, trying to decipher who and what the voice is.

"I bet you're wondering where you are."

"Maybe." I reply, wary but still scared.

"Well, I'll tell you." And the owner of the voice pops up in front of me. He looks like a hologram, but when I reach out and touch him it's as real as touching my own face. He looks exactly like the doctor, except that he's wearing a long robe that drags across the floor instead of the doctor's uniform. I get the feeling that the Reach are a mono-ethnic race.

"Who are you?" I ask, quite rudely, all my earlier fear forgotten as I stare at the frog faced alien.

The alien glares at me before he answers. "I am the leading general in Communications and Technology of the Reach dynasty."

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?" I ask raising my eyebrows.

"Yes. For it is I who has you trapped here by the orders of Black Beetle."

I glance out the screen, where my friends are still staring at me with concern, and I see Black Canary has joined them, wielding a first aid kit. I wonder if somehow I'd be able to regain control of my body or in some way indicate to them what's happening.

He sees me staring at the screen and clicks his fingers angrily to get my attention back on him.

"Huh?" I say, being yanked from my planning.

"Would you kindly pay attention!" He snaps. He then takes a deep breath. "Now," he says, reining in his temper and smoothing down his robe. "Do you know why you have been chosen or where you are?"

That simple question puts the fear back into me. Because the reality is, I have no idea. No idea why or what they plan to do. And that's one of the scariest revelations I've ever had.

"I take your silence as a no. Well then I shall elaborate. You, my dear Robin, have been chosen to help aid the Reach in their impending invasion of Earth." I raise my eyebrow at him, but he ignores me and continues.

"We ourselves, did not have the necessary information to successfully annihilate any existing protection or government parties, therefore we needed a 'new player' as so to speak. Someone who knew the ins and outs of Earth's greatest protectors, the infamous Justice League. Now there was no one more suitable than the Caped Crusader's sidekick, The Boy Wonder."

"Wow, I'm flattered," I mutter sarcastically, trying to cover up how scared I am. He just glares at me again and carries on with his endless garble.

"As I was saying, we needed to somehow get you to infiltrate the League, but we knew that you would not do that willingly. So Black Beetle came up with the idea to implant a small chip into your brain to take control of your body. But your conscience and mind power was too strong to be put out to give us full control." -I allow myself a small smile when he says this- "You were meant to be under our control as soon as you came to but you kept unconsciously overriding our computer programming so we had to very quickly create this room to contain you." He says, gesturing around with his arms, an evil glint in his eyes. I start shaking my head in disbelief when I suddenly realize the full severity of the situation that I have gotten myself into.

The cold hard reality settles deep in my stomach. I'm stuck inside my head with no control over my body and what the Reach does with it. The fear bubbles to the surface and with it comes anger. I rush forward.

"Parasite!" I yell. I run at him but he just blips out from in front of me and ends up behind me. He just grins maliciously because he knows I can't do anything to him.

"How come you're here? How can you do that, but I can't, when we're in here together?" I ask, my anger momentarily forgotten.

"Ah. That is because my 'conscience,' as such is here. But unlike you, it's not my full conscience. Back in the real world my brain is hooked up to a special machine, which is what allows me to be in here. It is basically a simulation. I cannot be awakened from the simulation else it is quite possible you could break free of our hold. Don't go getting ideas though; I'm not going anywhere."

Scoffing, I look around me and think a bit. I remember that he said that they had to quickly program this room. Maybe they hadn't constructed it properly. If I could break through the fire wall and destroy the inner protocol I might be able to regain control. I start banging and kicking the wall. It starts to flicker and instead of the white padded walls it was programmed to show, I instead see the intricate details of it's inner programming. I kick harder.

The alien's eyes go big when he realizes what I'm doing. He reaches up to his ear and yells into his comm.

"Increase Containment walls' integrity by sixty-five percent!" He yells. He looks at me, then presses his comm again, whispering into it.

A sharp buzzing fills my head, dipping in variations of tone, disorientating me and causing extreme pain. I clutch my head, trying to dull the pain but it just continues. The alien smiles again and a picture of my mum flashes briefly in my head, making me wince from the memory.

"Remember _Dick_, we have full control over your body, _including_ all your thoughts and memories. Heck, we even have control of your dreams!"

The buzzing stops but there's still a dull thud in it's place and the memory is still fresh in my mind.

"So, it's easy. Don't cause trouble and we won't do anything to you. But do, and we'll make you regret it." He says, his voice thick with venom.

"I will _never_ stop trying to get out!" I say fiercely.

"Then that is your choice. But you will come to regret it." He sighs, before walking into a dark corner. The screen goes black and I assume he has made my body go to sleep.

I bang on the walls some more but my punches get softer and softer until despair gets to me and I just can't do it anymore. I lean against the wall and slide down it, feeling defeated and helpless. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I do know one thing. The League is in big, big trouble.

**A/N So what did you think? Am I gonna survive or do I need to start writing my will? Let me know what you think! **

****This chapter has been edited****


	3. Author's Note

**_Author's Note_**

To my few but faithful followers,

I am very sorry but I will not be continuing this fic at the current time.

Maybe some day I will continue it but I am not going to be updating it at the moment.

I am simply not feeling it anymore and I have no more ideas for it.

I will leave it up and put it on hiatus.

I am really, really sorry.

~DCsuperheroesForever


	4. Chapter 3

**Soooo hey guys! Long time no read huh? So first I just wanna say I'm reeeeeeeally sorry! I know I haven't updated in ages and I'm really sorry. I just wanted to let you guys know that I will never, ever, EVER abandon FanFiction. Okay? Okay. (No TFIOS pun intended - I swear!) So the reason I haven't posted in a while is cause I'm trying a new way of writing. Yep, prepare for hail storms because I'm actually planning my Fics out and writing the whole thing before posting anything. So yeah. I'm currently working on a few different fics at the moment, the main being my OC trilogy along with writing two different series of books that I plan to get published. So my updating schedule is gonna be a bit sketchy. But for Korra198 you'll be glad to hear that I have a numerous amount of ideas for that sequel you wanted :D Now enough of my rambling! On to the chapter!**

"Robin! Robin wake up! Dude c'mon!" I say, staring into his unfocused, unblinking eyes. I hear the screen blitz from what I assume is Batman cutting the transmission to storm his way over here but I'm too worried about Robin to care.

"Wally. Please. I need to take a look at him." Black Canary says, putting a hand on my shoulder and gently pulling me out of the way. As I back away I see his eyes slowly shut.

"M'gann, see if you can sense anything wrong with his vital organs. Focus especially on his heart and brain."

M'gann nods and brings her hands up to her temples, her eyes glowing green.

"His breathing and heart rate are normal. But I can't sense much from his brain. I mean, I can feel his brainwaves; his brain's still functioning, but there's no thoughts, no emotions. And I can't dig deeper, there's something, something almost like a firewall or a mental block, keeping me out. But that doesn't make sense. He's not even awake. How can he be mentally blocking me?" M'gann says confused, her eyes returning to normal.

"Ok, Wally call Batman. Tell him-" Black Canary starts, but before she can say anything else Robin suddenly sits up, looking around.

"Robin! Dude, what happened?!" I ask pushing past everyone.

"I don't know." He says slowly looking around. His eyes seem a little hazy but I push it aside, blaming it on the fact that he just passed out. "I-I think I remember getting hit in the head with Captain Cold's ice gun. That's why you found me unconscious. And after that I felt a little sick the whole way back and I think that's why I fainted."

"I think we should take you to the Med-Bay, for a check up. You know just to be on the safe side." Black Canary says, her eyes filled with worry.

"No I think I'm alright now. I just need a little rest. I'm gonna go lie down in my room."

Black Canary nods slowly, not convinced but deciding not to argue with the strong-willed boy. She'll just check up on him later.

"Um, Robin, can I ask you something?" M'gann asks him slowly.

"Sure."

"How were you able to make a mental block while you were unconscious?"

"Huh. I didn't even realize I was. It must be a sort of reflex or something." He says, before giving her a small smile.

She looks unconvinced but nods anyway.

"I'm gonna go to my room now." Robin says, getting up. He seems a little unsteady and he moves almost robotically but he gets up and walks down the hall, towards the room that is kept for him. Batman arrives through the zeta beam just as Robin rounds the corner and he gives a pointed look at Black Canary.

"Is he gonna be ok?" I ask, unsure, ignoring Batman's unwavering gaze.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Black Canary says, smiling reassuringly at me. "Now everybody hit the showers. I need to brief Batman." Batman nods at this as him and Black Canary wall off into a separate room, shutting the door behind them.

We all head in different directions, thinking about Robin and the weird thing that just occurred.

"Argh! Get. Out. Of. My. Head!" I scream, sinking to the floor in pain. The pain intensifies as the noise goes up an octave leaving me screaming in pain. Suddenly it drops down in tone before disappearing completely, being replaced instead by memories of my parents.

Birthdays, Christmases, family get togethers and just everyday things. A picture of us at the beach on Mothers Day slides by like a slideshow; almost like my life is flashing before my eyes. When that one goes by the spark show of sound fills my head again, rising and falling like an ocean of sounds. I clutch my head and writhe on the floor.

My ears pop with sound and colours swim before my eyes. Just as it feels like my head is about to explode the sound stops again. I think it's over when a memory pops in front of my eyes again. This time it's not a picture, more of a video. I suck in a breath. I remember this one too well.

The images of my parents smiling as they step up onto the platform. They wave and the crowd cheers. Mum suddenly swan dives off the platform, and everyone gasps as she falls through the air, before being caught by Dad's strong arms. I clap along in the memory with everyone else as they start swinging together to gain momentum. My uncle jumps off another platform and grabs onto Mum's feet, giving them the big push they needed. Dad lets go of the trapeze and they go flying through the air. My uncle wraps his legs around the next trapeze, holding everyone up as he grins at the crowd, while they scream and cheer.

I close my eyes slowly. I know what's coming next.

Suddenly the trapeze shudders, as it starts to loosen from it's holds. My uncle's grin slips as he realizes what's happening. But before anyone can do anything, the trapeze breaks off completely and they all go racing towards the crowd gasp and cheer, thinking it's all part of the act, but I know differently. They hit the ground with a thud and go silent.

"Mum! Dad!" I scream as I rush forward to their crumpled bodies. I grab Mum's limp hand in mine. "Mum! Come on! Get up!" Tears are streaming down my cheeks both in the memory and in real life.

The crowd cries out when they see their unmoving bodies on the ground, jumping up and screaming for 911. I just lay my head on Mum's chest, sobbing while Haley tries to comfort me and control his own emotions at the same time.

The memory fades away and I squeeze my eyes harder, like it can make the memory be forgotten. Tears keep spilling down my cheeks uncontrollably as I just lie there, sobbing, my chest heaving and my cheeks wet.

Sometime during the whole episode the screens shut down and the alien guy settles in a corner, as my body goes to sleep.

I just stay lying down, I don't get up. I'm not even sure I could if I wanted to. I feel like everything's just been drained out of me. At some point I cry myself to sleep.

****This chapter has been edited****


	5. Chapter 4

**Hello my few but faithful followers! WAIT! Before you kill kill me let me expl- ah! *dodges knife thrown at head* geez that was close. Nice shot though! Okay I'm really sorry! Its been what four months? Geez no wondering your aims so good, you've had enough time to practise. Im really sorry but these last few months have been pretty hectic and i apologise immensely. But I thought I'd post this since its my birthday on Tuesday (only two more days yay!) and instead of getting gifts I thought I'd give one. As boring as some of you might find this chapter unfortunately it is essential to the storyline. So yeah sorry about that. But I promise the next chapter will be better. And I'll try to update sooner as long as you promise not to bring anymore knives ok? But enough of my rambling. Without further ado, onto the chapter!**

Chapter 4

As I rap my knuckles against Dick's door, I feel a tinge of guilt. I'm supposed to be letting Dick rest but I can't wait any longer. I need to talk to him. And I really think he needs it. I mean I know what he's like, he hates being confined. He's always telling me that the rehabilitation and resting after a major injury is always worse than the actual injury. I chuckle as I think this.

I knock on his door again. For a minute I think he is actually resting when the door slides open with a whoosh.

"Come in." He mumbles from inside.

"Hey Dick how ya feeling? I brought you some food. I thought you might be hungry after... well you know."

"I'm not hungry."

"Oh that's ok. We can just chat instead."

"Wallace, you know I'm not really in the mood right now. I was actually sleeping." Dick says, frowning.

"Oh. Ok then. I can go if you want." I try to sound cheerful but even I can hear the falseness of my own voice. But Dick doesn't seem to notice, which is quite unusual of him.

Dick sighs. "No I suppose you can stay if it makes you feel better."

"Um ok." I'm quite unsure of what to make of this response. Something doesn't quite feel right but I can't put my finger on it. We sit in silence for a while until Dick seems to get impatient.

"Well, wasn't there something you wanted to tell me?" He demands irritably.

I get quite annoyed with this.

"Actually no. I just wanted to check on you and make sure you're alright, like friends are supposed to do. I thought that you'd like it since Batman always has you locked up in the mansion when you're recuperating and never lets anyone in. But I guess I was wrong." I get up to leave when I feel his hand on my shoulder.

"Wallace I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I just... it just hit me a little hard this time you know?"

I turn my head to look at him. Again I get that twinge, that feeling of dread crawling up my spine, telling me that something's wrong. But I push it down yet again as I look at his somewhat pleading face.

I sigh. "It's ok, I forgive you." I give him a small smile and he smiles back.

I can't help but notice that it doesn't quite reach his eyes. In fact, his eyes are dull. They don't have their usual azure shine, their mischievous glint. But I put it down to him not feeling too good.

Even with the sudden friendliness the room still swims with tension. And that underlying feeling, creeping up on me that something's not quite right.

"I better go before Batman realises I'm in here." I smile half-heartedly, hoping he doesn't notice, trying to get out the room as quickly as I can. He smiles again, that same dull-eyed smile. I shiver involuntarily.

"Ok. Friends?"

"Bros forever dude." I say, just to hurry up and get out of there, putting out my hand for a fist pump. He stares at it blankly for a minute before bumping it with his fist.

I give him a quizzical look before turning away, mumbling a 'bye' and stepping out the door, letting it slide shut behind me.

I stand shocked for a minute, trying to process what just happened. That's when it clicks.

He called me Wallace. Twice. Dick never calls me that.

He told me once that it's too posh for me. He said my personality is just too out there for it and that it makes him think of a royal prince. Which I'm definitely not, he'd said with a laugh. The memory almost brings a smile to my lips before I stopped myself.

Something was seriously wrong with Dick. And I was going to get to the bottom of it.

I've just managed to fall into a restless sleep when my 'eyes' open. The alien guy reappears, grumbling, and I lean forward a bit to get a better look at whose disturbed my body.

I perk up when I see Wally walk into my room, carrying a tray of food. And that makes me wonder. I don't seem to get hungry in here. Or need to use the bathroom. Or anything that I would normally need or need to do to sustain myself. I wonder how it works with my body.

Even though I can't actually talk to Wally, it's comforting to see his face. His grin turns slightly lopsided when 'I' say something that seems to confuse him slightly. I pull myself out of my thoughts and focus on what is being said.

"Wallace, you know I'm not really in the mood right now. I was actually sleeping."

My 'voice' sounds alien to me. It's almost like listening through an old radio. I shake my head, wondering how Wally can't possibly see through this charade. I love seeing Wally when l'm recuperating.

Something nags at the back of my mind. Something about that sentence doesn't sound right. I puzzle this for a minute.

That's it! He called him Wallace! I never call him that and Wally knows that.

"Come on Wally," I say quietly to myself.

Wally seems unsure of how to respond to this but settles on an 'Um, ok.'

I wait, my fists clenched in anticipation, waiting to see Wally's face scrunch up in that special way of his when his cogs are turning, but it doesn't come.

"Well, wasn't there something you wanted to tell me?" My body demands after a long pause.

Wally's face flashes angrily and he launches into a spiel about how he's here to help me, like a friend should.

"Come on Wally, come on." I mutter to myself, "You know I'd never say that."

"Wallace I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I just... it just hit me a little hard this time you know?"

I scoff. Did these freakazoid aliens even do their homework? I'd never act like this. No matter how hard it hits me I'd never do this to Wally. And he called him Wallace again!

Wally turns around and gives 'me' a hard look. I can see his brain working behind those emerald green eyes. He knows! He knows something's not right! I almost jump up in triumph but stop myself at the last minute, not wanting to alert the hologram of Mr Frog-Face to the mistakes he's making.

Wally sighs but responds meekly, forgiving 'me'. He mutters a lame excuse about leaving before Batman realises he's in here, before trying to leave the room. I notice him shiver when 'I' smile.

'I' ask him if we're still friends and I see my hand reach out and fist bump his awkwardly, after his fist had been hanging in the air for quite some time. He turns around an hurries out the door, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

My body shuts down again, everything resuming being covered in a blanket of darkness. But I don't feel as gloomy as before.

Wally knows. He may not know exactly what's wrong but he knows enough to know that something is. And that single thought fills me with an immense feeling of an emotion that I desperately need. Hope.

**So what did you guys think? Remember reviews help me write better and faster plus they make me feel all fluffy inside. And a review would also be a great birthday present! Thanks in advance! :D**


	6. Chapter 5

**Nice long chapter for you guys today. AND I updated sooner than all the other times. So enjoy it while it lasted because I won't be updating anytime soon as I am LITERALLY drowning under assignments and exams as I only have two weeks of school left. So yeah. I didn't get any birthday surprise reviews *sad face* but I did get one a couple of days later from Citrakayahian. So thanks for that. :D Anyway, on to the chapter!**

"Anyone know what's up with Robin?" I ask, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Considering the act of fainting that overpassed him earlier, Wally, I believe that his reaction to whatever bluntness you approached him with is justified." Aqualad replies, raising an eyebrow pointedly while Artemis snickers.

"That's not what I meant." I scowl. "It's just that-" I'm cut off by my comm beeping.

A broadcasted message flows through my ear, telling us to head to the briefing room. Obviously Batman has a mission for us.

I sigh. "Never mind."

"It's probably nothing Wally. Don't worry about it. I'm sure he's fine. Just a little tired." M'gann says, smiling brightly.

I push off the counter, shrugging, when a thought hits me.

"Wait a minute. We just went on a mission. Why would we be going again?"

"Does it matter? I'll take what I can get. Especially since it's been so quiet lately." Artemis states, brushing past and grabbing her bow and quiver from the counter top.

We're all still in uniform from earlier so we head straight to the briefing room where Batman waits in person, still at the mountain following the earlier ordeal. I look around the room and notice that everyone's here, including Robin, who I avoid eye contact with.

"Team. I understand that some of you may be tired from today's earlier mission." Starts Batman, "But you are required desperately at the moment. It is a simple reconnaissance mission but one that is of extreme importance. We have recently received an anonymous tip that Count Vertigo is back in the market of Vertigo. We require you to confirm or dispel this. The location's co-ordinates have already been sent to the bio-ship."

"Isn't Vertigo Arrow's problem?" Superboy scowls.

"Green Arrow has requested you personally. He's a little tied up with Deathstroke at the moment and would like the Team to look into the Vertigo situation." Batman says, narrowing his eyes.

"This should be easy." Pipes up Robin, who at some point, has ended up next to me.

Batman turns to look at Robin. "You will not be going. You are physically unstable."

"That's not fair! I'm feeling perfectly fine. See?"

And with that, he grabs my arm and twists it behind my back, before kicking me in the back of the knees. I fall with an 'oomph' and feel his knee digging between my shoulder blades, pinning me in place. Combined with the arm lock, I'm not going anywhere.

"Yip. Perfectly fine." I wheeze. Partly because I want to get him off me and partly because I need him to go with if I want to find out more about what's going on with him.

He clambers off of me, glaring defiantly at Batman, while I roll my shoulder. Artemis tries to hold in her giggles and I glare at her.

Batman glares back at Robin and a glaring match ensues: Bat glare versus Mini Bat glare. Batman finally gives in, obviously sensing that this is not a fight that he'll win. "Fine. But the first sign of trouble and you're out of there, no questions asked."

Robin nods enthusiastically. I pull myself up off the floor and we all head to the bio-ship. As I buckle in I hear M'gann make a surprised sound.

"What's wrong?" I ask her, keeping my voice low so only she can hear me. She shakes her head but after a moment I feel her presence in my mind.

"The bio-ship, she's picking something up. Something... alien." She says through the mind link.

"It's probably nothing." I say back but even I'm not convinced.

She nods reluctantly but I notice her chewing on her bottom lip.

I sit in silence the rest of the flight, contemplating what M'gann said. I hear the chatter of the rest of the Team and they try and bring me in to the conversation a few times but mostly I just ignore them. I'm jolted from my thoughts when M'gann announces our arrival.

We all turn on stealth mode and jump out of the cloaked bio-ship.

"Ok. We will split into two teams. Kid Flash, Miss Martian and Robin take the West wing, then proceed to the North. Artemis, Superboy and I will take the East and South." Aqualad directs us off.

I'm glad I'm teamed with Robin so I can dig a little deeper. We break off into our teams and head to our designated areas. We're about halfway to our area when I hear M'gann.

"Hello Megan!" She whispers, tapping her forehead. "The mind link!"

She holds her hands to her temples and her eyes glow green. I feel her in my mind and gradually I feel the others too. Except Robin.

"Robin. You've got a mental block up again."

"Yeah that's fine you can leave me out of the link." He says, a little abruptly.

M'gann looks a little shocked but doesn't say anything more.

"Where's Robin?" Superboy asks through the mind link.

"He's busy." M'gann answers, the annoyance in her mental voice clear. Everyone goes quiet.

"Ok guys." I say out loud. "Robin you check it out from the rafters. I'll take the ground. M'gann, you take to the skies in camouflage mode. Everyone cool?"

They nod in agreement and M'gann pulls her hood over her head, camouflaging herself. Robin shoots his grapple hook and disappears into the rafters.

I jump in through a window and land on a metal catwalk with a 'clang.' I glance over the railing and see giant vats of boiling liquid and at least ninety people wearing plastic body covers tending to them. Count Vertigo walks in then, yelling at everyone to hurry up.

I look up and see Robin perched on a rafter, observing. M'gann floats over to the catwalk a couple of metres away from me.

Suddenly she recoils, as if hit from an invisible opponent. I step towards her but Robin swings down from the rafters and lands between us. He storms towards her, his face contorted in anger.

"Stay out of my head!" He screams at her, hands clenched into fists at his sides. She steps back, cowering from him.

"I'm s-sorry." She whimpers. I'm scared that he's going to hit her and I charge towards them.

But then I hear shouts from below us.

_Damn, we've been spotted._

And to top it all off Aqualad's voice fills my head.

"What is going on?"

"Not. Now." I grind out, then snap my connection to the others.

I glance around and see that people are rushing towards us from all sides. I have to make a choice and fast. I go with the closest option.

I spin Robin around and grip him hard.

"What are you doing?!" I scream at him.

He looks like he's about to lash out, his face set into an angry line. But before he can do anything Count Vertigo interrupts us.

"Well look who it is. The Junior Justice League. Joker told me that one. I thought is was pretty good." He chuckles.

I look around and notice that we are now completely surrounded, Vertigo's goons just mere inches away apparently just waiting for the signal from Vertigo to attack. I notice they are all brandishing dozens of different weapons: blades, guns, glass beakers, metal pipes and some have aerosol cans filled with something I can only imagine would be very uncomfortable to come into contact with. One of them is even carrying a wooden spoon.

"So what brings you here today? Looking to INDULGE yourselves? I have a brand new batch ready." He chuckles again.

"Well that confirms it then." Robin murmurs.

"Yeah as if the giant vats of bubbling Vertigo weren't a big enough giveaway." I mutter and he glares at me.

"No answer? Well that's just too bad. Guess we're done here." He waves his hand and his army charges forward as one mass. I notice him turn and exit through a door.

As I turn around to engage whatever douche bag has decided to attack me, I'm whacked in the back of the head. I turn to find the guy carrying the wooden spoon.

"Um ow!" I yell at him before clocking him in the head.

His eyes roll into his skull and he drops. Right behind him is another goon, this one in a fighting stance with no weapon.

He throws a punch at me and I dodge. I then pick him up and throw him off the side of the catwalk.

"I'm going after Vertigo." Robin says behind me, kicking a guy in the sternum, the momentum pushing him backwards and over the railing.

I duck, narrowly avoiding be smacked with a metal pipe. I hit the man with an uppercut and he stumbles back.

"What?"

He doesn't reply. Out of the corner of my eye I see him pick up a blade that'd been dropped. He then jumps the railing, flipping through the air and landing gracefully, then runs through the door that Count Vertigo disappeared into.

"Damn it!" I shout, kicking another douche over the railing.

"I've called the others. They're on their way." M'gann yells out, dodging punches.

"Can you handle it until they get here?"

"I-I think so."

"Ok. I'm going after Robin."

She nods and I shoot off down the middle of the catwalk using superspeed, knocking goons left and right, their screams as they plummet sounding distant.

I reach the stairs and jump straight over them, landing on the ground in a crouch. I race through the door, my brain faintly registering the arrival of the rest of the Team.

When I burst through the door I take everything in. I watch as Robin pounces on Vertigo and they hit the floor with a resounding 'thud.' They haven't seemed to notice me yet. I'm glued to the spot as Robin brings the knife up to Vertigo's neck, pressing against it.

"This is just means to an end. The end of the beginning. Phase two will begin very shortly. Don't worry, your death will not be in vain. It aids the Reach very much." He says through gritted teeth, a grin slowly spreading across his face. Vertigo watches him with wide terrified eyes.

He draws his arm back, ready to slice it through The Count's neck, when I finally react.

"No!" I shout, shooting forward.

Robin looks up, confused, still not having noticed my arrival, as I barrel into him. We fly across the floor before skidding to a stop.

"What are you doing?!" I scream in his face, pinning him down by his shoulders.

"Get off of me! I almost had him!" He shouts in frustration, trying to squirm out of my grip.

"We. Don't. Kill." I grind out. "You took an oath!"

"This is your problem, you heroes. You only cure the symptoms and never destroy the disease." His words are full of such venom and his eyes of such hatred that I' taken aback.

"Who are you?" I ask, stunned. I lean back, my grip loosening.

He doesn't answer, instead using my shock to his advantage. He bucks and I fall to the floor. I watch in horror as he races towards Vertigo's fleeing figure. Robin leaps at him, the pair crashing to the ground. He has the knife out again.

But before he can do anything the rest of the Team bursts through the door. He glances up, noticing them. He's smart. He throws the knife out to the side, making it look like he whacked it out of The Count's hand. But from this angle only I could see that the knife was in HIS hand, not Vertigo's.

He rolls Vertigo over, taking a pair of metal cuffs out of his utility belt and locking them around his wrists. He hauls him up and drags him towards the others and Aqualad smiles at him.

"Despite everything we still managed to complete the mission and apprehend Count Vertigo. Good work Team." He takes Vertigo from Robin's clutches. "Robin, Kid Flash, take some samples of Vertigo so that they can be examined in the lab, then meet us back at the bio-ship."

Robin nods and walks towards the wall opposite me. I don't even stop to think what he's doing; I just charge at him. He bends over to pick something up; I realise too late what it is: the knife.

I don't have enough time to stop; I continue barreling towards him. At the last minute he sidesteps me and grabs my arm, spinning me around into a headlock. He presses the knife against my neck and I freeze.

"If you tell anyone about this, I _will_ kill you." He says, his voice deathly low.

My throat is dry and I swallow. I nod my head the tiniest bit, trying my best to keep my distance from the blade. He presses it a little harder, putting a tear through my suit, before pushing me forward. I stumble and land on my hands and knees, gasping for air just from the sheer fear of the knife against my throat.

I look up at him, my vision blurring with unshed tears.

"What happened to my friend?" I whisper.

He glances at me, then strides out the door, presumably to gather samples.

I drag myself off the floor and hobble back to the bio-ship.

Robin rushes out of the bio-ship when we arrive back at the mountain, carrying the vials containing the samples of Vertigo.

I follow at a more leisurely pace. I was even quieter on the ride back, but so was most of the Team. Although their silence was more of a triumphant one, mine was one of defeat. I'd kept sneaking glances at Robin, while in turn M'gann did the same to me.

She was still uneasy and seemed to sense that something was wrong. I spent most of my silence wondering if I should confide in her. I wouldn't want to put her in danger.

We all stand before Batman, and I'm vaguely aware of him congratulating us, especially how we handed Count Vertigo over to the GCPD after his capture. But Lord only knows what he was doing in Gotham. Probably trying his business outside of Starling.

I'm suddenly aware that the zeta tubes have gone off, and M'gann and Conner have gone off to their rooms, leaving me alone with Robin and Batman.

"Was something wrong, Kid Flash?" He asks, frowning.

I open my mouth, not sure what I'm going to say, when Robin shoots me a warning glance. I close my mouth and shake my head.

"No. I just have to go grab something from my room." I mumble.

He nods and I head to my room in the mountain. But before I get there though, I stop in the hallway, just out of site, and listen.

"Access denied. Personnel not recognized." I hear the mechanical voice of the zeta tube.

"Try again." Batman grunts.

"Access denied. Personnel not recognized."

I suddenly realise that the zeta tube is denying Robin access.

I hear Batman growl, then his gruff voice fills the room.

"Override. Batman 02"

"Access granted."

There's two bright flashes of light and then silence. Batman and Robin have left. And the zeta wouldn't grant Robin access. That just proves that something is wrong with him.

I hurry down to M'gann's room and frantically bang on her door.

She opens the door, looking flushed.

"Wally what's wr-" She starts but I interrupt her, pushing her inside and locking the door.

"Wally! What are you doing?" She asks, confusion evident in her face.

"We need to talk." I tell her keeping my voice low.

She understands the urgency in my voice and nods.

"I wanted to talk to you too." She says. "But you go first. I have a feeling that our... concerns are not too far apart."

"It's Robin. There's definitely something wrong with him. He tried to kill Vertigo and he threatened to _kill_ me if I told anyone. Earlier he was acting very strange and just before the zeta tube denied him access. That coupled with the alien interference that the bio-ship picked up is definitely proof enough."

"I agree. I take back what I said earlier about it 'being nothing.' It's definitely something. And there's something else. During the mission I managed to catch him unawares. I got a glimpse into his head. And it was not pretty." She shudders. "The thoughts and images I got were of pure hatred and venom. And so, so disturbing. But something was stopping me from delving deeper. And he realised what I was doing before I could push harder."

"What exactly are you saying?"

"I'm saying that Robin isn't in control. That this-this _thing_ isn't Robin."

"He knows."

"Who does?"

"Kid Flash. Wallace West."

"How?"

"He suspected something was up. I thought I managed to cover it up enough but he seemed... edgy, like he knew something was wrong. And he saw me attempt to eliminate Count Vertigo. Well technically he saw Robin but he knows that something isn't right."

"Hmm. This an unexpected turn of events."

"I am sorry. I should have studied more on his best friend and maybe then this wouldn't have happened."

"There is a simple solution to this problem."

"What is that?"

"We need to eliminate Kid Flash from the equation. Kid Flash must die."

**So I added a little bit of Arrow season 2 in there for you. Did anybody like it? Why don't you give me a little review an tell me aaaaaaaaaaall about it? Please? And don't forget to tell me what you think of my little cliffie!?**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N So hey guys. Another chapter! Yay! So this one is a bit longer, which I think you guys deserve for being so patient with me and my super slow updating. And it's quite angsty and a bit dark. So just a heads up. I'm not sure when I'll have the next chapter ready, I only just finished this one and rushed here to post it for you guys. But hopefully I will kick my butt into gear and you won't have to wait too long. Anyways, onto the chapter! **

**Chapter 6**

No. No no no no no no! This cannot be happening! They're gonna do it. They're really gonna do it. I have to stop them. I have to warn him. But how?

I run my hands through my hair and look around desperately. How do I get out of here?

"Ah poor Robin. Stuck in his little cage. Poor little birdie. Tsk, tsk, tsk." My tormentor says with mock sympathy, before his face cracks into the biggest grin since the Cheshire cat.

I grit my teeth and hit the wall with my fists, as if it will do anything.

"By the murderous look in your eyes I'm guessing you heard Kid Flash's fate." A smirk. "But. It will have to wait. The chip in your brain needs to be replaced. It was only meant to be temporary until we disposed of you. But our endeavour has proved to be more difficult than we originally planned. This chip needs to be replaced with a more... permanent instalment."

I wince despite myself and he laughs.

"We need to create a disturbance. A big enough one to grab the Batman's attention but small enough that only one person is required to investigate. That person will be you."

Turning to the computer, he begins typing away. The tap, tap, tap of his fingers on the keyboard is the only sound in the room, broken only by the alien's undecipherable mutterings.

Ignoring him, I turn away, invested in my own scheming. I need to formulate a plan. This might be my only chance to save Wally. But I need more information.

"Hey!"

He ignores me, continuing to type away at his keyboard.

"HEY!"

He glances over his shoulder at me, scowling, before turning fully to face me.

"What is it boy?" He demands irritably.

"What do you mean a more 'permanent instalment?'"

Raising his eyebrows, he smirks.

"What? It seems to me that this might be the end of my life, at least in a bodily sense. And I would like to know what it is exactly that will be the death of me." Then, appealing to his ego, I add, "I bet you were the one who designed it."

Bingo. His chest swells with pride and he clears his throat.

"Well yes, I did in fact. It's quite simple really. It works much the same as the one currently implanted, but more permanent. It attaches itself to the Cerebrum, specifically the Frontal lobe. Once attached, it extends wires out to each part of the Cerebrum, then continues onto the rest of the brain, the Cerebellum, the Limbic System and the Brain Stem, until it is connected to every part. It then seizes control and enters our own algorithms at the frequency of your brainwaves instead."

I wince, unintentionally, but it seems to be the right thing to do, because he grins at me and continues.

"Because the chip connects to every part of the brain, including the Temporal lobe, we have access to all your knowledge, memories, emotions, bodily functions and much more. The League was basically destroyed the minute we installed the chip. We know every secret identity of every League member and their sidekicks. Including their weaknesses and specific methods to neutralize them."

I swallow hard.

Seeing this, the alien laughs darkly.

"Yes, dear little Grayson, we know the identity of, and how to destroy, the Batman."

"I-" My voice cracks and I swallow, before trying again. "I still don't know much about the chip. I mean, someone with such a labyrinthine mind such as yours, would surely have run into some problems."

"I'm glad you asked. There were a few _minor_ issues. The original problem was getting the device to replace your brainwaves without frying your Brain Stem, which would have caused your heart to stop beating and your respiratory system to fail. This happened with almost ninety nine percent of our test subjects."

I can't breathe. "T-test subjects?"

"Yes. You weren't the first. There were only three other subjects who survived the initial testing, two of which died a few days later. But that problem was solved, as you are well aware of, being in the current situation that you are."

I think I'm going to be sick. How many had to go through this torture, just for them to perfect their charade? How many innocent people died? My hands are shaking, and I clench them into fists, so he won't notice. It takes all my self-control to not scream bloody murder at him, and I manage to grind out one more question.

"Is that all?" I inject as much innocence into these three words as I can, even going as far as cocking my head to the side.

"What do you mean 'is that all?' Of course that's all! I am a genius, far more knowledgeable than your most famous scientist! How dare you question my Intelligence?! I-"

He notices my barely hidden grin.

"Why you insolent little twerp! I'll-" Suddenly he stops. "Actually, there is one thing. How did I forget?" He's muttering to himself now, turned away from me and pacing slightly.

"Yes this could propose a big problem. You are troublesome enough as it is. I must speak with Black Beetle right away."

Looking up at me, he grins.

"I know just what to do with you." He turns to the computer and starts typing in commands.

My cocky grin starts to slip when I see the glee evident on his face.

"Have fun." Chuckling, he presses another key and everything goes dark.

-/-/-/-/-/-

"Uggggghh." I groan.

My head feels like a thousand sharp knives have been shoved in, and someone is slowly, rotating each and every single one methodically. Twist, throb, twist, throb.

Squeezing my eyes shut against the pain, I slowly roll over until I'm on my stomach, resting on my elbows. Gingerly, I peel my eyes open, little bit by little bit. I'm not sure where I am.

Looking up, I see a big, blue sky, not a cloud to be seen, tinged by the bright tops of huge, thick-trunked trees, resting on a sea of green that is broken only by the occasional pale yellow snake of a path, twisting this way and that. There's the odd bench here and there, resting under the shade of the trees, and a water feature in the middle of a lake. It looks like a park.

_But how did I get here?_

Pushing myself to my feet, I stumble along one of the paths. I keep looking around, hoping to see something I recognize, looking for anything that might give me a clue as to where I am and how I got here. Suddenly, I hear my name called out.

"Dick. Dick! Hey!"

I turn around to find the one and only person on my mind right now: Wally. He's standing next to a bench where a box filled with glass tubes and slides sits, waving at me like a maniac. I can only assume he's here collecting samples for another science experiment. I start walking towards him.

"Hey Wally. Man am I glad to see you. What's going on? What are we doing-" Someone barrels into me and I'm knocked to the ground, the wind rushing out of my lungs.

"What the heck is wrong with you?!" I gasp out.

But the guy isn't listening to me. He's maybe forty-two, forty-three years old, wearing old ratty clothes full of holes, and caked in dirt and grime. I assume he's homeless and lives in this park. And intent on getting to wherever it is he's going. Which seems to be in Wally's direction.

I push myself to my feet, watching the man, when I see him pull something out from inside his coat. The sun glints off the object and I realize it's a knife.

"Hey! What are you doing?" I start jogging towards them. "Wally!"

Wally looks up at me, apparently not seeing the mad man with a knife slowly walking towards him.

"Come on Dick! Come look at what I found." He grins, waving.

Suddenly, it's as if the homeless man duplicates. Instead of one crazy mad man with a knife, there is suddenly twelve. And they've all got their hungry eyes trained on Wally.

For the first time, Wally finally seems to notice the people around him.

"Uhh Dick? What's happening?"

I take a step forward, ready to defend my best friend, when I'm yanked from behind. Looking down, I see that metal shackles have formed around my wrists, followed by chains holding me to the ground. I yank my arms but nothing happens. The chains don't budge.

The group of identical knife wielders have created a circle around Wally, slowly converging, like a noose tightening.

"Wally! Run!" I shriek.

Time seems to slow down. I see the look of fear in Wally's eyes as he realizes it's too late. The hands gripping knifes all seem to raise in unison, before coming down upon Wally. He screams as he collapses and the knifes just keep coming.

"Dick! Dick! Please help me! Help me! They're killing me!" He screams and my heart tears in two.

"WALLY!" I strain against the chains, pain searing up my arms and into my shoulders, but still I keep pulling, hoping against hope that maybe there's a weak spot, that maybe, just maybe, if I tug hard enough, the chains will break.

The tears streak down my face as Wally's cries slowly die down, till he's just whimpering.

I tug one more time, half-heartedly, and nearly fall on my face. The chains have disappeared, as if they were never there in the first place. I stumble over to Wally, shoving the murderers aside.

What I see makes me want to simultaneously cry and kill someone. Wally's battered body is lying on the ground, twisted unnaturally. His chest rises and falls erratically, his breathing laboured. There's blood everywhere. His clothes are soaked; it drips from his hair and fingers and runs down the sides of his face. The once green grass is now stained a deep red.

"Oh Wally." I mumble, falling to my knees and taking his hand.

Wally coughs, a wet guttural sound.

"Diiick..." He rasps. "Di…ck. W-why... didn't you... s-save me?"

I choke. I open my mouth but nothing comes out. My throat is clogged with tears.

"You're my best... f-friend. You were... supposed to... s-save me."

"No no Wally I-"

"You didn't... save me. It's... a-all your... f-fault. You... k-killed... me."

Suddenly he gasps. His back arches and he jerks once, twice, three times, before falling back to the ground.

"W-wally?"

His chest no longer rises and falls with each breath, because there are no more breaths. He's dead. Wally West is dead. My best friend and brother, is dead.

"WALLY!" I shriek

I'm shaking uncontrollably, my tears mixing with his blood. He's right. It's my fault. How could I let him down? I killed my best friend. The pain is unbearable, building in my chest, a fiery ball of grief and guilt. I should've run faster, fought harder, yelled louder. I should have done something! I can't take it anymore. I tip my head back and release everything in an animalistic howl of pain and loss, anger and guilt.

"This is all my fault, all my fault. It's my fault." I mutter hysterically, the tears streaming down my cheeks, my hands frantically pulling at my hair. An eerie chant fills the air.

"You killed him. You killed him."

It's the duplicated old man. It's just him now, his murderous doppelgangers have disappeared.

"I-I know ju-"

"You killed him. You killed him."

"I know I did! Stop! I's my fault I kn-"

"You killed him. You killed him."

"Argh!" I scream, needing to get away.

Shuffling backwards, screaming at him, the truth of his chant ringing in my ears and stabbing into my chest. Tripping over myself, trying desperately to get away from his haunting cries, somehow I manage to get my feet under me. I run away from him, and my horrible deed lying dead at his feet.

His sickly song of death follows me, although I can't see him anymore. It's all around me. I run, hands over my ears, tears streaming down my face as anguished sobs rip themselves from my throat. My tears blind me and I trip over a lump on the ground. Darkness surrounds me, the only things visible being me and the lump on the ground. It looks like a person.

Looking through my blurred vision, I make out blond hair, cropped close to the scalp and dark skinned arms, laced with an intriguing pattern of tattoos, only slightly darker than the person's skin.

_Wait. Those tattoos. I-I _know _those tattoos. It's Aqualad!_

"A-Aqualad?"

I roll him over and a shriek escapes me.

Looking back at me is not the face of Aqualad. A huge grin stretches from ear to ear, his mouth frozen in a laugh of death. His eyes are wide open and tear tracks stain his cheeks. A thin line of blood drips out the corner of his mouth. It is a face of death. A face that has been twisted and sculpted to create carnage.

A face that has been baffled by the Joker.

"This can't be happening! Aqualad! Please! You can't be dead!" I sob, my hands gripping his lifeless body.

Maniacal laughter fills the empty void surrounding me. The chant is gone, replaced by something much, much worse. It's coming from everywhere and nowhere. There is no way to escape it.

This is all too much. Too much!

"This can't be happening, it can't, it can't!" I cry quietly to myself, curling into a ball.

The laughter continues. It fills my whole body, from the inside out. Every single particle, every fibre of my being is darkness filled only with the endless laughter of a psychotic killer, reminding me that I couldn't save them, I didn't save them. I can't take it anymore, I CAN"T!

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" I shriek. I collapse to the floor, writhing in pain. I need to get away. I shut my eyes and clamp my hands firmly over my ears.

My eyes are squeezed shut but it's as if they are wide open. Images swirl in my head, clouding my vision. There's no escape. I'm forced to watch everyone I love and care about killed in front of me, helpless to stop it. I watch M'gann burn alive, while a bucket of water sits just out of my reach, an invisible wall stopping me from reaching it.

Artemis is dropped into a boiling vat of acid, my hand the one that unwillingly pulled the lever to release her to her death.

I stand motionless as Superboy is skewered with a thousand shards of kryptonite, my feet glued to the ground.

Over and over again, I see them all brought to their ends, brutally murdered and cruelly slaughtered. And their blood is on my hands. I stood by and did nothing to help them, as their last cries were made.

And the screams. The worst part was their screams. Shrieks of pain and terror, cries for help unanswered.

"Robin, help me!"

"Don't kill me Robin please!"

"Save me!"

They surround me, killing me on the inside, slowly, slowly, ever so slowly. Why won't it end? Why isn't it me dying? Why?!

Then it all seems to end, as warm strong arms scoop me up. I look up through tears, and see the one face I never thought I'd see again.

"B-Bruce?" I'm too scared, that this is just another trick, another illusion. Because if it is, that's the end. It will tip me over the edge.

But as soon as I hear his voice I know that he must be real. His voice is so full of love and warmth. He's come to rescue me.

"It's ok Dick, shh. I'm here now, everything will be alright." He engulfs me in a hug and I bury my head in his chest, my tears soaking his shirt.

"I'm so glad you're here." I cry. "T-they're dead. A-all of them are d-dead. And it's all my fault." I sob, clutching his shirt.

"No, no it's not your fault Dick. You can't save everyone."

"B-but I didn't do anything! I s-stood by and w-watched it all happen and did nothing."

"Shh, stop that. It's not your fault. They wouldn't want you to think this way. They knew the sacrifices they would have to make when they became heroes." Bruce rubs small, slow circles on my back, attempting to calm me.

"Does that include being betrayed by your own friend and teammate?"

Suddenly whole body goes numb, I can't feel anything. My arms are moving of their own accord. I don't understand what is happening. My hand reaches behind me and pulls a gun from my waistband that I didn't even know I had.

"No, no, no!" I scream, realizing what is about to happen, but I am no longer in control of my body. Time seems to slow down and the next few moments are drawn painstakingly slowly across my vision.

I press the gun to Bruce's chest. He feels the barrel pushing on him and pulls back to look at me, his hands resting on my arms. Confusion flickers across his face and his lips part. Fear fills his eyes but he doesn't move. I feel my finger press down on the trigger, pulling it back ever so slightly, until it clicks. The pistol jerks back and a loud bang fills the air, merging with the sound of a bullet shot at point blanc range entering a human body, and passing through flesh on the other side. Bruce gasps as blood begins to pour from the wound, spilling out and pooling on the ground.

He looks at me with such pain and betrayal in his eyes it breaks my heart. He lets go of me as he falls to the ground. I gasp, feeling flooding my arms again. Dropping the gun, I lean over him, tears once again gushing down my face.

He's twitching and rasping, wheezing for air. The blood continues to flow, and his chest jumps erratically. He doesn't have much time.

"I'm so sorry Bruce. It wasn't me. I wasn't in control. Why? Why is this happening? Oh gosh I'm sorry Bruce, I'm so, so sorry." I'm crying uncontrollably, the pain so great I can barely stand it.

"Why Dick? W-why? I… loved you. H-how c-could… you? Y-you were my… everything. You h-have… failed me. Y-you… a-are a… disgrace. H-how could y-you… do this t-to… me?"

"No! Bruce please! Y-you don't understand! Dad! Don't leave me! I love you!"

He looks at me with those eyes so full of hurt, before they roll back into his head and he falls silent. His time has run out.

"NO!" I scream.

I pulled the trigger. I shot him. I killed my dad.

"WHY WONT MY SUFFERING END?!" I screech.

The sound wrenches itself from me, my throat ripping roar with the sheer volume of it.

_All I bring is pain and death. I am not worthy of living. It should have been me. I should've been stabbed to death, melted by acid or shot. Not innocent people, people worthy of love and life. Heroes. It should have been me._

I fall down, into Bruce's blood, where I stay. That never ending darkness is back. It engulfs everything, until there is nothing but me, the darkness and the blood of others soaked through my clothes. I just want it all to end. Right here, right now. I want to be put out of my misery. There is no reason to live anymore. I deserve to die. The darkness seems to expand for a minute, before being sucked into me. I close my eyes, willing it all to go away, to just leave me here in this black hole, devoid of anything except a small lump lying on the ground, a lump that was once worthy of being called a hero. But not anymore.

Not anymore.

**A/N So what did you guys think? I'd love to hear your thoughts and any questions you may have. Also if you have any ideas you'd like to share I'd love to hear them! Thanks so much for sticking this fic out with me guys! ^.^ **


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